The present invention relates generally to armrest assemblies and more particular to armrest roller mechanisms for use in passenger vehicles. The invention is an armrest rail roller linkage apparatus which assures positive contact between the rail and roller of an armrest assembly.
Armrests have become standard features in vehicle assemblies, particularly passenger vehicles such as automobiles, trains, and aircraft. Armrests provide passengers with the comfort of resting their arms and also may provide a demarcation between adjacent seating arrangements. However, it is at times necessary to move an armrest for comfort or to stow the armrest. A passenger may require that the armrest be located in a different position such as for ingress/egress from a seating arrangement or for other purposes. As such, armrests may include an assembly whereby rollers roll along a rail. The rollers may be attached to a linkage which is attached to the arm rest. According to such an arrangement known in the art, the roller allows the armrest to roll from one position to another position to accommodate the desires of the passenger.
Because armrests such as described above move along a rail from one position to the next, the rollers may become dislodged or misaligned from the rail. Such dislodgment/misalignment may result in instability of the armrest, limited mobility of the armrest, or even detachment of the armrest. Such dislodgment is especially common where the armrest assembly is deployed in a seating arrangement in an aircraft where forces in many directions, such as up and down, are frequently exerted on the arm rest. These forces include frequent movement of the armrest from one position to the next and external forces exerted by the passenger vehicle. In such cases, armrest maintenance and/or replacement are a frequent problem in the art.
As a result of such problems in the art, prior art arm rest roller designs may use one of two designs. According to one prior art design, the rollers are machined according to very tight tolerances in cooperation with the rail. Such designs have no adjustment mechanisms. However, in addition to being very expensive and difficult to machine, manufacture, and install with tight tolerance requirements, the rollers may still become dislodged, loosened, misaligned, or tightened/stuck so as to be non-functional after being exposed to repeated forces associated with armrest and vehicle movement.
Thus, another prior art design attempts to correct the aforementioned design by allowing for adjustment of linkages and the rollers. Such designs use multi-point adjustments in order to precisely configure the rollers around the rail and also to allow for replacement and readjustment. Unfortunately, such prior art designs require time consuming skilled labor. It is common for such designs to require 15 minutes or more of technician time per armrest adjustment. For a passenger seat having two armrests, this results in 30 minutes of adjustment labor per seat. Commonly, vehicles such as aircraft provide seating for dozens or even hundreds of passengers. Thus, arm rest adjustment can consume considerable time. This results in aircraft downtime.
As a result, there is a need in the art for an armrest roller assembly that may be quickly, safely, and easily adjusted. There is also a need in the art for an armrest roller assembly that requires little adjustment or at least less frequent adjustment to correct deviations and wear in roller action due to frequent movement and forces applied to armrests.